Remembering Maggie Lee

What a sad and terrible week it's been. Here's a good account of the extraordinary, jam-packed funeral service in Shreveport for my lovely, departed niece Maggie Lee Henson, and a number of other substantive stories about her and the bus crash that took her life from the Associated Baptist Press:

• Funeral of girl killed in bus crash to be webcast live (8/5)
• Shreveport girl dies from injuries in church-bus crash (8/3)
• Youth minister hurt in bus wreck released from hospital (7/20)
• Struggle continues for teenager injured in church-bus accident (7/16)
• Shreveport church focuses prayer on daughter of church staff member (7/14)
• Pastor says National Guard saved lives following wreck of church bus (7/13)
• Church bus headed toward Passport overturns, killing teen (7/12)

An astonishing 951 people watched a live webcast of the standing-room only service at First Baptist Shreveport. Maggie was buried in Tyler not far from my mother's grave at Rose Hill cemetery; I'm thankful she's at peace and am now pulling for my brother's family as they struggle to deal with their loss and regain some sense of normalcy. My nephew Jack (10) restarts school this week, so I'm hopeful getting back into that routine will be good for everybody. This whole episode must have seemed like an out of body experience - it would be absolutely annihilating to lose a 12-year old daughter as bright, happy and wonderful as Maggie Lee.

One amazing aspect of this event was the online outpouring of support my brother's family received, evidenced on this page set up for her on the website CaringBridge. John and Jinny's updates and the many thousands of guest book entries are as inspiring as they are heartbreaking.

Thanks to all the friends and readers who've expressed their sympathy and support in this difficult time. I definitely appreciate it.